Sprinkler head



Jan. 5, 1954 Filed Aug. 5, 1950 J. J. BARZ ,956

SPRINKLER HEAD 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR Jose/ 1L Jf,5a/rz..

J. J. BARZ SPRINKLER HEAD Jan. 5, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 5. 1950 6 a 2 2 231W a W 8 "TM 6 3 7 3 1 l 4L5 2 n 75 H ik 4 w. 4 a 2 INVENTOR J03 61 /5 J 542 2 Patented Jan. 5, 1954 2,664,956 SPRINKLER HEAD Joseph J. Barz, Philadelphia, Pa., assignor to Star Sprinkler Corporation, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of New Jersey Application August 5, 1950, Serial No. 177,924

3 Claims.

The present invention relates to sprinkler heads or nozzles which are used in automatic sprinkler systems for fire protection.

A purpose of the invention is to obtain more reliable, simple and quick acting sprinkler head operation.

A further purpose is to obtain direct column support of a valve or cap by a fusible lever element extending between the valve or cap and an abutment on the frame A further purpose is to avoid delay in operation due to the effects of corrosion.

A further purpose is to prevent change in operating characteristics or leakage due to cold flow.

A further purpose is to avoid delay in operation dependent upon the temperature of the water in the sprinkler system.

A further purpose is to extend a longitudinally fusibly yieldable lever unit from an abutment on the frame at one end to the valve and to bias the lever to swing to the side about the abutment as a fulcrum by a resilient strut or pair of resilient struts extending from the valve to the end of the lever near the abutment and to one side of the center.

A further purpose is to support a key,-suitably of heat insulating material and desirably a. glass ball, in the end of a longitudinally fusibly yieldable lever element by a fusible element in a chamber of the lever element and desirably provided with internal space for displacement of the fused fusible element without expelling the fusible element completely from the chamber.

A further purpose is to socket the key in a recess or key retainer in the valve.

A further purpose is to interposea piston in the pocket or chamber of the lever between the key and the fusible element, and desirably to provide the piston with a socket for the key.

A further purpose is to grip the key on the side of its ball center remote from the fusible element by a lip on the lever.

A further purpose is to provide a socket on the abutment which is engaged by a ball portion on the lever.

Further purposes appear in the specification and in the claims.

In the drawings I have chosen to illustrate one only of the numerous embodiments in which my invention may appear, selecting the form shown from the standpoint of convenience in illustration, satisfactory operation and clear demonstration of the principles involved.

Figure 1 is a front elevation of the sprinkler head of the invention, partly in axial section to show the pivoting of one of the resilient struts.

Figure 2 is an end elevation of Figure l, partly broken away to show the nearer strut and its pivotal mounting.

Figure 3 is a section of Figure l on the line 33.

Figures 4 to 6 inclusive are axial sections on the line 4-4 of Figure 1, showing in Figure 4 the device in normal protective position before an emergency arises, while Figure 5 shows the action as a fusible element begins to melt and Figure 6 shows the action as the sprinkler head opens. Figure 6 is partially broken away at the base.

Describing in illustration but not in limitation and referring to the drawings:

The present invention may be regarded as a further development of the sprinkler head of William B. Grifiith U. S. Patent 2,165,477, granted July 11, 1939, for Sprinkler Head.

It is necessary for a sprinkler head to remain in a condition of vigilance for an indefinite period of time and then be ready to open quickly when an emergency arises. The time of opening should be the same whether the sprinkler head is comparatively new or has been in service for a long period, and, therefore, the effects at the time of opening of corrosion and general deterioration should be reduced to a minimum. Likewise the effects of cold flow on the fusible element should be eliminated as far as possible.

The temperature of the water in the sprinkler system will vary considerably from summer to winter, and depending upon whether or not substantial flow exists in the system, and as far as possible all difference in the time of opening due to the effect of water temperature should be eliminated.

The present invention is designed as far as possible to accomplish these objectives, which have not been fully achieved in the prior art.

In accordance with the invention, the valve or cap is held in closed position by direct column action of a longitudinally fusibly yieldable lever element, which contains the fusible element within a pocket of the lever. While the lever is directly on the center line between the valve and the abutment, the lever is continuously urged off center by one or more resilient struts acting between the valve and the lever.

The possibility of having the key freeze to the walls of the pocket by corrosion is largely eliminated by employing a glass key in contact with metal walls, and by sealing the interior space against moisture by pinching or spinning over the lip of the pocket on the key.

The possibility that sealing between the key and the pocket might prevent displacement of the material of the fusible element is avoided by providing a free displacement space inside the pocket around the key.

Any possibility that cold flow may provide looseness between the key and the valve prior to emergency conditions is prevented by interposing a piston between the key and the fusible element and desirably socketing the key in the piston.

By making the key of a heat insulating material, suitably a refractory such as fire clay, silica, magnesia or the like, or a ceramic such as porcelain or glass, the effect of variation in water temperature is largely eliminated as a variable in the time of opening of the sprinkler head.

Considering now the drawings in detail, the sprinkler head as well known has an externally threaded base or shank with a hollow tubular interior 2i and a valve seat 22 at the lower end (in use). The shank is suitably threaded into the sprinkler pipe and normally extends downwardly from the ceiling of a room.

Connected at the sides between the shank and the valve seat and extending outwardly with the hollow interior, is a suitably circular frame 23 as well known which has, in line with the valve seat and opposed thereto, an internally threaded abutment recess 24 which receives an externally threaded abutment 25 having a socket recess 26 at the end facing toward the valve seat and in line therewith.

The abutment carries at its remote end the usual deflector 21 which distributes the spray. When the abutment is tightened and adjusted it is held in proper position by a pin 28 extending through one side of the frame and through the abutment.

The valve seat is closed by a valve or cap desirably made in two parts, an outer valve portion 30 and an inner valve liner 3| which together cooperate with the valve seat and effectively comprise the valve. The outer valve portion 3!! has a central protuberance 32 extending toward the abutment and provided with a socket or key recess 33 at the center which is adapted to receive the key as later explained. tion around the outside is flanged at 34 and, at diametrally opposed points immediately inside the flange and outside the protuberance, strut recesses 35 are provided as best seen in Figures 1 and 2. The edge of the outer valve portion 30 toward the valve seat has a central annular boss 36 which extends inside a dished portion 31 on the inner valve portion 3!, aiding in centering the valve on the valve seat.

A lever 38 has at one end a hemispherical or ball portion 40 which sockets in the abutment recess 26. Immediately toward the valve of the abutment, the lever is outwardly flanged at 4|. At points located a distance away from the axis, in the face of the flange 4! toward the valve, the flange 4| has strut recesses 42. It will be seen from Figure 1 that the pair of strut recesses 42 are on opposite sides of the axis as viewed from the front, but as seen in Figures 2, 3, 4, and 5 th recesses are off center or removed from the axis when viewed from the side, and thus the struts tend to push the lever out of it center position. Toward the valve of the flange 4!, the lever desirably narrows into a stem 43 and then,

The por- I at the end adjoining the valve, it; widens to form a longitudinally extending pocket 44.

The pocket is filled with a fusibl element 45 at the end remote from the valve. The element 45 may be any suitable solid of definite melting point at the temperature at which it is desired to have the sprinkler head open. One suitable material is solder of the desired melting point. Other suitable fusible elements are described in Hicok U. S. Patent No. 1,629,102, granted May 1'7, 1927, for Fusible Element. lhis patent mentions alphamononitronaphthalene, dichlorbenzene, diphenylamine, and cobalt nitrate. Any of these materials or others as well known may be used and for their particular temperatures.

On the side of the fusible element 45 toward the valve, I place a piston 46 which has, desirably on both sides at the center, socketing recesses 41, one of which receives the key and the other of which serves to anchor the fusible element and the piston to one another by extending the fusible element into the recess in the piston. The piston should be loose fitting as it is intended to extrude the fusible material around it when an emergency arises. The clearance should be at least 0.001 inch around the piston in the pocket and preferably 0.005 inch.

A key 48 occupies the end of the pocket toward the valve and is preferably of spherical form, seating in the recess 41 of the piston and in the key recess 33 of the valve. While the device is in protective condition, the spherical key 48 has its center inside the pocket and the pocket is sealed by crimping or spinning over lip 50 at the outer edge of the pocket firmly around the key. This crimping or spinning action has the effect of sealing the key against intrusion of material inside the pocket which might cause corrosion and at the same time it builds up a force downward to push the key into the pocket, which aids in making the key move inwardly when an emergency arises and the fusibl element melts.

It will be noted that free space 5| is provided inside the pocket around the key and around the piston and the volume of this free space is sufficient so that it will receive all the fusible element which is displaced when the key moves up into the pocket without the necessity of forcing fusible material out of the pocket.

On either side of the lever 38, resilient struts 52 extend from the sockets 35 in the valve at one end of the sockets 42 in the lever at the other end. The struts are outwardly bowed as shown in Figure 1 and have longitudinally stiffening ribs 53.

In operation the fusible element is suitably inserted in the pocket by holding the lever minus the piston and key with the pocket uppermost and pouring in the molten fusible element and allowing it to solidify. The piston is then placed on top of the fusible element and firmly seated as by application of pressure. The key is then seated in the piston and the lip 50 is crimped or spun around the key. The lever element is thus ready for installation in the sprinkler head.

With the pin 28 removed and the abutment 11.11-- screwed, the portions 30 and 3| of the valve arc fitted in the valve seat, the lever element is placed in alignment between the valve and the abutment and the resilient struts are socketed at their respective ends in the recesses 35 in the valve and in the recesses 42 in the flange 4| of the lever. At this time the struts are comparatively straight as they have not yet been placed under compression. The abutment is now tightened by screwing in and as it is tightened it first longitudinally compresses and bows the struts, while at the same time tightly socketing the lever element in the key recess 33 and the abutment recess 26. The abutment is tightened until the resilient struts exert a heavy spring action, and the longitudinally fusibly yieldable lever is itself under column compression between the valve and the frame. The frame itself is placed in tension. The hole for the pin 28 is then drilled and the pin is inserted.

The sprinkler head is now ready for installation and will remain as shown in Figures 1 to 4 inclusive indefinitely as long as it is not subjected to an elevated temperature. All of this time that the sprinkler head is inactive, the valve is held in place by direct column action of the lever element including the fusible element, piston and key, so that there is no possibility of undesired displacement of the valve during this period of inactivity. While the struts act on the lever to tend to throw the key to one side, they cannot do this because the key is engaged in the key recess 33 of the valve. During the protective period the device is well protected against corrosion. Since the key is preferably of a nonmetallic refractory or ceramic material such as fire clay, silica, magnesia, porcelain or glass, the possibility of metal-to-metal binding action between the key and the inner wall of the pocket does not exist, so that the ball is always free to move into the pocket when permitted by the displacement of the fusible element. At the same time the crimping or spinning over of the lip 50 of the pocket prevents the intrusion of moisture into the pocket and tends to urge the key inwardly of the pocket. During the inactive period the possibility that the key may be displaced inwardly by cold flow of the fusible element, which would loosen the compression of the lever element and permit the valve to leak or the lever element to become displaced, is prevented by the piston which provides a wide surface of contact. The spherical surface of the key is held centered by one of the recesses in the piston and the opposite recess in the piston is provided to receive the fusible element and maintain the relative position of the fusible element and the piston.

When now an emergency arises, the increase in the ambient temperature causes the fusible element to melt. When melting takes place, the longitudinal pressure as well as the tendency to swing laterally causes the key to move up into the pocket, while the molten material of the fusible element enters the free space 5! around the key and around the piston. Thus the key is able to move up into the pocket sufficient to open the sprinkler head without forcing any of the fusible material out of the pocket, such material merely moving into the free space 5| as indicated in Figure 5. An instant after the condition shown in Figure 5, the key moves up far enough into the pocket so that it can no longer hold the lever against lateral displacement by the engagement of the key in the key recess 33 of the valve. Accordingly the struts by their spring action, applied to the leverage on the lever, force the end of the lever having the key off to the side as shown in Figure 6, the struts themselves swinging off to the side, and the water pressure and gravity force the valve out of the way and open the sprinkler head.

The tendency of the water when cold would be to cool the fusible element and delay the melting. This has been prevented in the device of the present invention by employing a heat insulating material such as ceramic or refractory for the key so that direct cooling of the fusible element by the water immediately behind the valve is minimized.

I find that the key when in the form of a glass ball can be very smooth, so that very little friction will be exerted between the key and the valve as soon as the key is able to slip out of the key recess 33. The key recess performs the important function of holding the key against lateral motion until the key enters the pocket.

The lever is at all times free to swing laterally due to the ball and socket relationship between the lever and the abutment.

In view of my invention and disclosure variations and modifications to meet individual whim or particular need will doubtless become evident to others skilled in the art, to obtain all or part of the benefits of my invention without copying the structure shown, and I, therefore, claim all such insofar as they fall within the reasonable spirit and scope of my claims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a sprinkler head, a valve seat, a valve normally closing the valve seat and having a socket centrally disposed on the side remote from the valve seat, a frame having an open interior and extending out to a position on the side of the valve remote from the valve seat, an abutment on the frame centrally disposed in line with the valve and in spaced relation thereto, the abutment having a socket disposed toward the valve, a lever having a ball pivot portion at one end, having a lateral flange adjacent the ball pivot portion and having a socket adjacent the other end, extending straight from the abutment toward the valve and having the ball pivot portion engaging the socket on the abutment, a ball in the socket on the lever, engaging in the socket on the lever and engaging in the socket on the valve, fusible material in the socket on the lever behind the ball maintaining the ball in position, and a resilient strut engaging the valve at one end and engaging the flange on the lever at the other end at a, position off center with respect to the straight line between the socket on the abutment and socket on the valve, the strut being normally flexed to exert pressure to swing the lever when the fusible element softens.

2. A sprinkler head according to claim 1, having a pair of resilient struts as set forth.

3. A sprinkler head according to claim 1, in which there is free spac inside the socket on the lever for displacement of the fusible element and the socket on the lever forms a lip closely gripping the ball at a position on the side of the center of the ball toward the valve and thereby sealing the socket on the lever.

JOSEPH J. BARZ.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,362,236 LeLaney Dec. 14, 1920 1,584,719 Bisson May 18, 1926 1,849,316 Rowley Mar. 15, 1932 2,129,012 Lewis Sept. 6, 1938 2,165,477 Griffith July 11, 1939 

